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Steve Gold: 1956-2015

Everyone here at Whitehall Media was especially pained to hear the news that computer security expert Steve Gold had unfortunately passed away earlier this week after complications following heart surgery, aged just 58.

Steve was the charismatic chair of many of our Identity Management events and attended numerous conferences of ours over the years, not only a leader but always a true student of his field. His positive attitude toward the cyber security profession was plain to see and reminded us of why he is so highly regarded in the area.

Tributes have been pouring in across the web and Twitter this week, Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro said: “A real gent, sharp, incisive but jovial and trustworthy. A great loss”. We could not agree more.

Steve truly came to prominence in the mid-1980’s when he and fellow journalist Robert Schifreen hacked BT’s Pristel communication system and famously accessed Prince Philip’s personal message box. The two were subsequently charged under the Forgery & Counterfeiting Act but were ultimately acquitted after appeal, this case led directly to the introduction of the 1990 Computer Misuse Act.

Steve continued his career as a prolific IT security journalist and became editor at some of the most highly-respected publications around today including SC Magazine, NetComms Europe, Cloud Computing World, Lawtech Magazine and Information Security Magazine.

Sarb Sembhi, ISACA Chair and chair of our GovSec event said of Steve: “He was a genuine technology enthusiast, who actually tried out much of the security he wrote about. His friendly approach, sense of humour, empathy and kind manner will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”

We have no doubt that Steve has inspired a vast number of people to undertake careers in cyber security, we hope that those people can pay ultimate respects by showing the drive and enthusiasm of Mr.Gold to help protect our world of the threats faced from computer misuse.

We hope that Steve rests in peace. Our thoughts are with his wife and family.

Picture copyright: Whitehall Media/Helen Jones Photography

An interview with Steve at our Identity Management conference last summer.